Protecting our economic sovereignty

Winnipeg North

This year has highlighted the importance of protecting Canada’s economic sovereignty by diversifying our economy and expanding trade opportunities.

Canada makes up about 0.5 per cent of the world’s population but our contribution to world trade is approximately 2.5 per cent. Trade enables us as a country to prosper and allows us to ultimately say “that we are the best country in the world to call home.”

Given the current trade situation, we have with the U.S.A. and the fact no one can predict what President Donald Trump will say, the government must not rush negotiations for the sake of getting an agreement. Prime Minister Mark Carney has indicated very clearly that he will take the necessary time to get the best possible deal for Canada.

In the meantime, the government introduced Bill C-13 in October, which deals with expanding trade opportunities between Canada, Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In September, the prime minister welcomed the president of Indonesia to Ottawa, and they announced the new Canada-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). This is Canada’s first bilateral trade agreement with an ASEAN country.

To quote Prime Minister Carney’s website: “This game-changing agreement will eliminate or reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers, create a more transparent and predictable environment for trade and investment, and open new opportunities for Canadian workers and industries in sectors such as clean technology, agri-food, infrastructure, critical minerals, and financial services. Once the CEPA is fully implemented, over 95 per cent of current Canadian exports to Indonesia will have tariffs either reduced or fully eliminated, making Canadian exports – such as wheat, potash, wood, and soybeans – far more competitive in Indonesia.”

Expanding Canada’s trade opportunities beyond the U.S. is critical and one of the trade files I have been engaged with is the Philippines. The relationship between Canada and the Philippines has never been stronger, as Canada’s prime minister is pushing to expand not only our trading opportunities but also our military connections.

For example, while he was in Malaysia last month, Prime Minister Carney met with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and I was happy to see that “The leaders also announced their intention to imminently launch negotiations on a bilateral Canada-Philippines free trade agreement, with the goal of conclusion in 2026.”

A week later, another important meeting took place between David McGuinty, Canada’s minister of national defence and Gilberto Teodoro, the Philippines secretary of national defense. The two men signed an agreement which allows for the Canadian Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to work more closely together by participating in joint and multinational operations and exercises.

Trade is critical to all of us, Canada is a trading nation, and I value the trade we do every day with our No. 1 trading partner, the United States of America — but we must also protect Canada’s economic sovereignty.